Highbridge House

This place will always remain in my sweet memories as the sh*thole which was closed due to safety reasons on arrival after a long flight from Madrid. Yes. Closed. Caput. We were in the middle on Harlem in a boiling hot June afternoon after a fifteen-hour flight//train/subway/working-the-Manhattan-streets-out with virtually nowhere to stay. After many, many calls to a number cellotaped to the door we were informed that our reservations had been transferred to another hostel from the chain in Broadway. Up until now, I firmly believed it was the worse place/crackhouse/drug den imaginable but after reading some of the experiences from fellow survivors whom have been forced down by the situation (and probably greed) to sleep in such shitholes I kinda feel I got lucky. I mean, we had to get across fancy Broadway with our bedsheets in black rubbish-bin bags (and also get them back in such fashionable manner) to get from the main building to the dingy stairs nearby a Wendy's in a very dodgy building but nothing too serious compared to some people's experiences of cheap accommodation in N.Y.

I haven't actually stayed here but I felt the need to vent over their booking system. I submitted a request for accommodation and received a confirmation of that request a day or so later. I did not receive a confirmation of an actual reservation so booked alternative accommodation and sent an email replying to the hostel's confirmation of request. A month later I get an email confirming my reservation. I checked out their site again and found an "amend booking" link tucked away in a corner. I ended up canceling the reservation but not without a charge to my credit card as per their cancellation policy. It is partially my fault for not going direct to their site and only emailing them but to me it seems their booking system is rubbish. And that's my two cents.

Ive stayed here twice in '04 and '05. I truly enjoyed my stay and was impressed with everything, but especially the high security -- all young people had ipod and laptops and just left them around, it meant I felt safe with my suitcase full of expensive clothes and toiletries. I've stayed in female dorm and also mixed, no troubles. I like the neighbourhood and across the road is a cheap supermarket. Staff change a lot so service can vary but they're generally nice and helpful. I actually met a Swiss guy who was at reception in '04 on a flight from Europe to Sydney in '06!

This hostel screwed over my friend and me during a three-day weekend. First of all, even though my friend and I booked a private double, once we got there and finally met the manager (who was at lunch at the time of our arrival at 3 in the afternoon) he told us that they actually didn't have a private double room that was empty. He said that he'd put us in dorm rooms. We were already charged the non-refundable deposit and of course we did not expect to find another place on a weekend. The initial reason we took the risk of staying at Spanish Harlem was because we found a private double and this hostel screwed us over. We accepted to stay anyway. Inside the hostel is renovated but dorm rooms are crammed with eight people in them. I don't know how many times when walking through the neighborhood we thought we were going to get raped. It is very dangerous to walk outside even at 6 p.m., as soon as it gets dark. Lastly, the manager thinks he is running some fancy hotel with a lot of experience. I guess that he found the right to be rude to us on our way to check out after he screwed us over. Do not stay at this hostel even if it is the only place to stay in New York City. You either will end up with a bad mood because of the awful staff that are snobs for no reason, or you will get killed or raped or both walking through the neighborhood simply to get some food.

The hostel has relocated and reopened in a new location in Washington Heights. I could not imagine it when I checked in. I was surprised by the brand new, awesome hardwood floor, beautiful bunk beds, kitchen and really cool decor. Forget what others say. This place is the best hostel in New York. It's a steal at $25 a night.